Toward the end of their terms, every President turns to thoughts of their ‘legacy’. Naturally, as one enters the end of the term of office, thoughts turn to how they will be remembered and what parts of their time in office will live on after them. Now that it is roughly a month after President Obama left office, it’s only fitting that we look back at his legacy.

If asked, I would imagine that former President Obama would list Obamacare, and likely the impetus for increased regulation of the banking industry including the Dodd-Frank law as his major domestic policy achievements. In the international arena, he has spoken of his pride with the Paris Climate Agreement, signed by over 120 nations.

Government regulation is a topic of frequent debate between liberals and conservatives. Conservatives say regulations often come at too high of a price, while liberals say that they are vital to protect us and our fellow citizens and that conservatives don’t care. So let’s break down a couple of recent examples. Continue reading “Regulations, Big Business and the Poor”

Hugo Chavez took power in Venezuela in 1999, on promises to do more to help the country’s poor. He brought a growing snowball of socialist economic policies with him that have continued since then. Venezuela has long been a member of OPEC, the world’s oil cartel, and has among the largest oil reserves in the hemisphere. In 2001, Venezuela was the largest economy in South America. Soon after taking office Chavez began nationalizing companies, including the nation’s oil companies, and began using the money from oil production to pay for subsidies for consumer goods that have grown over time, for everything from food to diapers. Continue reading “Socialism and the Poor in Venezuela”

With the election of a new President, we have the nomination for new members of the Cabinet. And with a current vacancy on the Supreme Court, President Trump has also nominated someone to fill the spot created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. All of these require the approval of the Senate.

The Cabinet nominations have been opposed fiercely by Democrats in the Senate, and they promise to do so when the nomination for the next justice of the Supreme Court is considered. With just two exceptions, a majority of Senate Democrats have voted against every nominee. And the process is taking longer than it ever has, in part because Democratic opposition has been so fierce that, in a couple of cases, every Democratic Senator has simply got up and walked out of the hearings. As recently as earlier, the vote on the nominee to lead the Dept. of Health and Human Services went past 2 AM because of the long debate. Continue reading “On Cabinet and SCOTUS Nominations…”